The young Greek filmmaker Menelaos Carayannis made some films for the Film Works before returning to Athens and establishing himself as a documentary filmmaker. The promise is an unassuming but poignant short film about a Greek family in Stockholm and about the double loyalties of the exile situation: Will they return to Greece or stay in the new country?
Set in Hamburg's “Hell's Kitchen,” a waterfront milieu of gangsters, pimps, dealers and prostitutes, the story follows the attempts of an ex-seaman first to insinuate himself into the scene, and then to extricate himself from it.
The story of a novice teacher who manages to win over not only her students but also her colleagues. Through her activity and dedication, she manages to ensure the completion of a gymnasium that has been under construction for 3 years.
Traveling through villages along the Nicaraguan-Honduran border, the filmmakers document the impact of the covert war against Nicaragua's Sandinista government, featuring interviews with mercenaries, soldiers, spies and civilian victims.
The film is inspired by the Mário de Sá-Carneiro short story, where the narration is made by Professor Antena's assistant who walks by his side when he is run over in a perhaps enigmatic way.
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Have you watched The Promise yet? What did you think about it?
